The Lady and Her Longing of Silver Silence
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: 30th Century -Hotaru is princess of Saturn with nothing to do. But then a handsome servant shows up, and soon the drama of being fought over by this man that 'doesn't like her' and a prince turns into a laugh-fest! Oneshot to end the quintet! HTxOC


The Lady and Her Longing of Silver Silence

**The Lady and Her Longing of Silver Silence**

A Sailor Moon Fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

Note: Note: All the Sailor Moon characters are the sole property of their creator, Naoko Takeuchi, and are not mine whatsoever. Only the fanfic idea and the original characters "Yukito Shinosei" and "Kyou Akatsuki" are mine. Also, this takes place in the 30th century in the outskirts of far away space and showcases Hotaru as the main character. The original senshi may have cameo appearances, but read on to fulfill your curiosity. And remember: READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! - P.S- Before you read this, it's a good idea to read "The Lady and Her Twinkle Yell" first, because this takes place after the events of that story.

-- -3

I was wiped out! I had just returned to Titan castle from saving the universe, yet again, with Lady Serenity, and most of my power was exhausted. Thank god I hadn't performed the Death Reborn Revolution. I changed into my nightgown and stared in my vanity mirror. When I had awakened the Asteroid Senshi Quartet, Juno had said something that had stuck in my mind.

_"What are dreams when they come true? If they come true, then they're not dreams, and it takes away the pleasure of 'what if'."_

Her words repeated themselves in my head again and again against my will. I hoped it would not get in my way of slumber. For the most part, I did not have the duty of watching over the solar system like Uranus and Neptune or guarding the Gate of Time like Pluto. I felt bad for them; for Pluto, because she was by herself and not even near her home. But Uranus and Neptune…it was too sad. Kind though she was, Neo Queen Serenity had wiped their memory of their relationship, for she had implemented that their relationship was a distraction and may have caused the leak in protection and allowed the villains the chance to get into our solar system. If you ask me, it sounded a little too far-fetched, but what the queen said goes. So Uranus and Neptune forgot that they were ever lovers, everyone else went back to their posts, and ties to the couple were nearly cut.

I wondered if their dream had come true when they got together, and I wondered, too, if what Juno had said applied to them in some way…

As for me, even though all I did was hang around in Titan or Phoebe castle every day, I did everything by myself. I had freedom, but…what was freedom without a friend? Or someone more?

I know I could visit Chibiusa any time I wanted, but I wanted the someone more. She and I were best friends, but I had a longing for finding a guy I could really be myself with. Great. Now I sound like I've been spending too much time with Guardian Venus.

I sighed and looked outside one more time that night. Then I fell into a deep slumber, where nothing could wake me, unless it was the sun.

-- -3

When I awoke the next morning, it was as noisy as ever. Now, you'd think that with nothing to do, I would welcome commotion and activities, but I dealt with this every morning, so I got sick of it a while back.

It was the usual stuff: maids bustling about, Dad losing his papers before his meeting, Mom not getting off of her lazy butt… And another thing was going on: Mom had to see the new workers before assigning them their jobs.

Here's how something like that goes: the workers form one straight line, Mom asks for their name and specialty, and she gives them a job that she thinks they can do to the best of their ability. It sounds easy, and it is, but it takes forever! So I went to watch. What?! I had nothing else to do!!

-- -3

"So how many did we get this time?" I asked Mom as I sat down on my throne beside her.

"Not as many as we usually do, Hotaru-chan. This will go faster today." Mom turned back to the chamber's door and motioned for the workers to be let in.

There were only about twenty people or so that formed the line in front of the throne. I was surprised. Generally, we had double the amount! Then I wondered how many people were killed by Sandman.

My mom's voice was loud, but not booming. "State your name and ability."

One by one, the line grew shorter, and I felt my eyelids getting heavy. I guess I was still tired from using my power on that last mission with Chibiusa and Ceres and her sisters. Now there was one person left, but my Mom turned to me.

"Hotaru-chan, you look exhausted. Why don't you go back to bed?" she suggested.

I stood, a bit wobbly, but I stood. "Sure…," I said, yawning. I moved to walked down the small set of stairs in front of the throne, but stopped to rub my eyes.

Mom turned back to the last worker. "State your name and ability."

"Shinosei Yukito," he replied. "No special ability." He sounded awfully young.

I turned and caught a glance at the stranger. He was a young man with dirty-blonde, short, cropped straight hair. By the looks of it, he appeared to be one year older than me. He looked lean, but his shirt was baggy, and he may have been hiding his muscle underneath. The whole minute I eyed him, I was blushing; he was handsome!

Mom smiled. "No special ability?" she echoed. "Then where do I place you?"

"I do not know, your highness," he said.

I turned away, for I wasn't sure if either of them had seen my redness, and stepped down the next step. Okay, I didn't step; I tripped and sailed down the next step and the next. It happened in seconds, but the worker known as Yukito rushed over to me and caught me before I fell flat on my face. My hands gripped his arms on their own as he helped me to my feet, and I mumbled a thank you.

"It is no trouble to help a beautiful princess," he said with a smile. He went back to stand before my mother, and I made a quick exit.

-- -3

Oh! To embarrass myself like that! Not just in front of a gorgeous guy like Yukito, but overall! I wish things were as easy as the summoning ceremony for the Asteroid Senshi Quartet. That was simple and I could do it. Of course, summoning them didn't really provide any opportunities to screw up.

After that little mishap, I wandered around, watching the workers getting settled in. I kind of envied them; they were given one job that they could do best and they did it every day… Then my mind went back to when Yukito. _No special ability?_ I thought. _He must have something he's good at…_

I passed cooks and masons, maids and butlers, but I didn't see Yukito yet. He should've finished with Mom a while ago, so he should've been out and about. I looked over to the sailors and the piers, scanning the ships for any sign of him. I don't know why, but I had a funny feeling that I would find him there.

Just then, someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around quickly and saw Yukito standing behind me. "Looking for me?" he asked with that smile of his.

I froze. What should I say?! "Uh, I thought you would be working by now," I stuttered.

"Down by the docks?" He eyed me suspiciously. "That's pretty dead on, princess."

"So my mother gave you a job?" I inquired, changing the subject.

"Yeah," he said, straightening up and putting a hand behind his head, "she finally decided on an 'everything boy' for me."

"A what?"

"She told me that I go where I'm needed, but for now, I'm mainly wanted at the docks." He looked me in the eye. "How'd you know I'd be heading this way?"

I crimsoned. Ooh, he was too curious for his own good! So what if he had cute face? "I didn't. I was just passing through." I turned on me heel and headed back to my room in a huff. Yukito just stayed behind, and I could feel his eyes on me as I left.

-- -3

Really! Once he opened his mouth, he just asks too many questions!! But, he was handsome and wasn't as lean as he appeared to be. When I had turned around earlier to find him behind me, he had his shirt sleeves rolled up, and I could see that, even though he wasn't a bodybuilder, he still had some strength there.

_Maybe I should give him a piece of my mind!_ I thought. But I collapsed on my bed. Maybe tomorrow after a good _day's_ rest…

-- -3

It really was a good day's rest that I had. I woke up during the night to get a snack since I had slept through supper, breakfast, and lunch (author: sounds just like me!). My sheets were at the foot of my bed, so I had nothing to throw off of me. I stood and changed into a different dress; I hadn't bothered to change out of my dress from the day before.

I looked in my mirror and grimaced; I wasn't much of a morning person, and my hair lived up to that reputation. I fiddled with it a bit, but gave up and put a headband with a ribbon on to tame it. I sighed when I looked at my eyes; they had slight bags under them, but I had slept a lot, so that would probably wear off later into the night.

Quietly, I stepped out of my room and made sure I wasn't disturbing anyone. I went straight for the kitchen and grabbed a few biscuits and a glass of water. But I didn't stay there or head back to my room. I walked outside and found that my feet had a destination in mind. I wound up at the piers and gazed out onto the water. Watching the tide approach me and suddenly retreat was fun and reminded me of when I was little, when I had no duties at all and could be myself. Of course, I still had that freedom now, but when you get older, things change, and you long for the simplest things.

I kicked my sling-backs off and carried them as I walked on the sandy shore nearby. Sure, sand was hot during the day, but it was so cool and soothing at night. I sighed with pleasure and sat down right in front of the tide. Like a cat, I stretched my tired legs out and let my toes touch the water. It was cold! But it felt _so_ good!

The water, the beach, and the night sky- they all fit together so perfectly. And the last ingredient to make it heaven for me: silence. There were practically no noises all around me; I could've heard a pin drop or a grain of sand being kicked. And yet, the only thing to ruin this heaven was what silence usually brought to me: loneliness. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. My teeth started chattering and I was considering heading back to my room that very moment when a jacket was dropped on me. I glanced behind me and saw his curious face. It was _him_!

Yukito plopped himself down on the sand beside me. "Whatcha doing?" he asked.

"Why is it any of your business?" I retorted. I glanced at him out the corner of my eye. He looked exhausted.

"It's not. I was just wondering," he replied. He looked out to sea and didn't brush his blonde bangs out of his face when the wind blew them around. "It's hard work," he finally after a minute or so.

"What do they have you doing?" I asked. "You did say you were an everything boy."

"I'm mainly down at the docks. There's almost never a minute that anyone uses me for anything else."

"Uses you?" I echoed, turning to him with a mischievous smile. "That sounds interesting…"

Surprisingly, he wasn't embarrassed by my comment. "Wouldn't you like to find out?"

I crimsoned like never before! How dare he say that in front of a princess! "I-I can't believe you said that to me!!" I shouted at him.

"You may be a princess, but you've got a lot to learn, milady." He smiled at me playfully and turned back to sea. "I don't mind being an everything boy, though," he said, changing the subject. "I've discovered I love the sea."

"Let's hope that's all," I muttered bitterly under my breath. He obviously heard me and smiled.

"That's some mouth you've got on you. Hasn't the queen washed it out with soap yet?"

"You know," I said, standing up, "you have a lot to learn yourself, like how to speak in front of royalty." I shot him my best glare and smiled on the inside. He would be sorry now.

Yukito stood and looked me in the eye. "Fine. If you want to be treated like royalty, then I'll treat you like royalty, but I would think that you wouldn't want to make it hard for other people to befriend you when you have no friends to speak of." He looked me in the eye and grabbed the ribbon off my headband, snatching the headband, as well.

At a loss for words, I choked, "G-give me my headband back!" I reached for his arm, but he was considerably taller than me, and I felt shrimp-ified.

"Why wear something that makes you look like the spoiled brat you are? Don't you want to keep fooling everyone else?" He grabbed both of my wrists in one hand and moved his face close to mine. "Well, your majesty?" he whispered.

I exhaled slowly and felt suddenly self-conscious. There was barely an inch between us and I knew he was playing with me. I clenched my teeth and glared at him in the eye again, grabbing my headband back. "You're just a jerk!"

Yukito looked at me with the grin still on his face. "A wild look on the face of her majesty- _priceless_. I shall see you again soon, I suppose, princess." And with that he disappeared.

Damn it! I still hadn't thanked him for helping me with my stumble on that day and for him giving me his jacket. But his words pierced me badly. I hadn't thought about being a spoiled brat. I guess it was just that the only people I was ever around were the ones who treated me like royalty, so I didn't really know how to act around others (except Chibiusa and some of the other senshi, but even then, I treated them with respect). Well, at least I had given him a piece of my mind.

And yet…I didn't like the idea of being treated like royalty again. I hadn't meant to snap at him. But I really wanted him to know Hotaru and not Princess Saturn. I wasn't sure why myself, but something inside me told me it.

I went back to my room and replayed the night in my head again and again. How close our faces had been… And how sharply and loosely he had spoken to me! But I guess I didn't mind that much, in the end. I could hold it against him the next time we met!

As I closed my eyes, I slept, thinking of our next encounter, thinking of what I would say to him, thinking of all of the worst case scenarios… (author: Anyone ever play? I have. Goods times, good times. But sometimes it sucked.)

-- -3

"Surprise, surprise, to see you at the docks once again," I said at sunset of the next day.

Yukito stopped what he was doing and noticed me. "Surprise, surprise to even see you out of bed," he remarked. He straightened up and smudged the dirt on his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt, which was tied around his waist. "And what brings you here, milady?" he said sarcastically.

"Cut the crap," I uttered. "I was passing by on my way to one of the ships."

He looked surprised and waved to one of the captains to signal a quick break. Quickly, Yukito dropped the crates he was holding at his feet and walked up to meet me. "Where are you going?" he asked with sudden interest.

"We're crossing Hyperion River and heading to Iapetus Castle on some important trade business." I sighed. "Although, it's really got nothing to do with me."

He thought for a moment. "Wait… The ride to Iapetus, you say?"

"Yes…" I wondered what he was getting at, half dreading what was coming.

"Hey! That's the ship I'm working on today! The Lua!" He looked at me and smiled. "Well, well. How do you like that? You're stuck with me for the whole day." He slung an arm around me shoulder in a chummy way. "Aren't you lucky?"

"What the-?! Get you're arm off me!! You're all sweaty and gross!!" I tried pulling away, but he caught me in both of his arms.

"Oh, no, milady. You're going to have to get used to this since we're going to be on that boat for about a day and a half."

I slapped his hands away. "Don't think you can get so friendly with me, you- you…"

"Yes?"

I had had it. "You ass!"

He looked at me blankly. "Well, now. That's an intense look you've got there. It seems we've struck a real emotion. You know, you should try expressing those real emotions more often, princess. It's better to get those nasty feelings out in the open so we can make up later."

All of a sudden, my anger was diminished. "Huh? Make up later?"

Yukito offered his hand to me. "Friends?" he asked with a smile.

I felt somewhat relaxed as I grasped his hand. "Fine," I said, coolly.

"The first one you've made today!" he stated.

"Why you little…!"

-- -3

The ship was rocking back and forth, and, while I found it soothing to watch tides retreat, being on the tides was a whole other experience for me. Bottom line: I was seasick.

I sat in the dining cabin, curled up on a chair, cradling my stomach when Yukito found me. "Uh-oh," he said. "You don't look so good."

"No shit, Sherlock," I retorted; I couldn't help but feel bitchy.

He passed me a glass with some mysterious liquid in it to me. "Drink. You'll feel better."

Unsure, I took it and downed it, but felt like puking then and there. "Ugh!" I said, pushing the glass back to him. "What the hell was that?!"

"Veggie juice. It usually calms my nerves when I'm out to sea. I wasn't sure if it would help you, but…"

"You've been out to sea before?" I was only asking because I knew none of the ships had been out since he had arrived, so…

"Actually, I was on ships for most of my childhood. My father was a great captain and others always assumed I'd follow in his footsteps." Yukito smiled sincerely. "I guess I'm one step closer to that."

"But you said you had no special abilities," I pointed out, remembering the audience with my mother.

"And I don't, but I did help out on the ship most of the time." He smiled pleasantly at me. "And I was just as seasick as you." He stood and looked me over. "I'll check on you later to see if you're all right, okay? Staying put would be the best thing for now. The last thing I need is to save you if you faint and fall overboard."

"Like I'm going anywhere…" I watched him leave and became silent. I wondered why he had toyed with me so much. But what was even more puzzling was that I kept making excuses for him…

-- -3

"Hotaru-chan! We're eating now!" Mother beckoned from the main cabin. I had been above deck, breathing the fresh air to feel better.

I was dreading going back below. But, as the 'good girl' I was, I obeyed my mother and descended the stairs. It was kind of quiet; Yukito had never come to check up on me, and I wondered if something was going on with the boat. Oh, well.

The dining cabin was about a fourth of the length of the boat, which was already small. There was a table in the middle of it, set for three people: Father, Mother, and me, of course. I sat down and immediately clutched my stomach again.

Father looked at me worriedly. "Is something wrong, Hotaru?"

"N-no! I'm fine, really." I grabbed one of the glasses off the table and downed it in one gulp as I had done with Yukito's veggie juice. And I felt quite wobbly…

"Hotaru! That was wine!" Father exclaimed.

I hiccupped a little and put a hand to my mouth. "I thought it tasted kinda funny…"

Mother sighed and put a hand to her forehead exasperatedly. "Hotaru… Some water, please," she said to one of the servants.

When she came back, I sipped the glass of water bit by bit, but I didn't feel any less tipsy. In fact, I felt even loopier. I stood with some trouble and looked at my parents. "I think-! I'll go to my room and… Rest! Yes! Rest! That sounds good!"

"Jesus," Mother uttered. "Drunk from a half-cup of wine…" Father chuckled to himself.

"I'll see her back to her room," a voice said behind me. I turned around, half-expecting to see Yukito, but it was another man. Now, this one was a man; he seemed to have a good two or three years on me (I'm only eighteen), but it didn't mean that he wasn't handsome. He had short, dark, burnt reddish-brown hair and emerald gems for eyes. He seemed to be built like Yukito: not a bodybuilder, but evenly toned. Although, he was several inches taller than Yukito, and about a half-foot taller than me.

Mother faintly smiled to the gentleman. "Yes, thank you, Kyou." She and Father returned to their meals as the man named Kyou gingerly led me out of the dining cabin to my room.

"Kyou, is it?" I asked. "I don't believe I know you. I would've recognized that hair and eyes anywhere." I burped a little burp and covered my mouth. "Whoops."

"I'm surprised your mother hadn't mentioned me to you," Kyou said. "I've been in Titan castle for nearly a week. Are you sure she has not said anything to you, princess?"

"Please," I said, "I hate princess. Call me Hotaru." I was drunk out of my mind; I had no idea what I was saying.

Kyou hesitated and opened the door to my room. "Princess Hotaru, you are obviously drunk. I don't think now would be the right time to tell you anything."

"Nonsense! Whatever it is, you can tell me!" I fell on one of my sides as the ship rocked back and forth and the redhead/brunette helped me up.

"You can't even walk straight," he mumbled to himself as he picked me up in his arms. He was quite strong, too; Kyou picked me up as if I weighed less than a feather. He carried me into my room and plopped me down on my bed. Kyou leaned over and looked me in the eye. "You've never had wine before, have you?" he asked exasperatedly.

I smiled. "You're cute, but cuter when up close!" I giggled. Without even knowing that I was going to do it, I sat up a little and kissed him on the lips.

Kyou seemed utterly shocked. "P-princess! Even if you and I are to be married, I think we should get to know each other first."

"Married? That's a funny joke. Good night," I mumbled as I rested on my pillow. I remember him moving off my bed and leaving my room, but the only other thing I remembered other than that was waking up screaming the next morning when we were only a few hours away from port.

-- -3

I stumbled out of my bed with two raging headaches; one from the wine, one from Kyou's statement. Married?! How the hell didn't I know?! Just the thought of not knowing made things worse. Had my parents set this up and not planned to tell me before the wedding day? I thought that they would never do something like it, but it was happening.

I changed into a clean dress and recounted the night's events: seasick, Yukito taking care of me, drinking wine, getting drunk, Kyou showing up, kissing him, the marriage thing… I was surprised I remembered everything, because people usually _forgot_ what happened when they were drunk. But not me. Oh, no; I remembered everything too well.

I stormed into my parents' cabin and glared at both of them. "What's going on here?!" I yelled at them.

Father looked up from his book like a scared little puppy. "Hotaru-chan!"

On the other hand, Mother didn't budge at all. "It's still too early to become someone else and yell at your parents for no reason, Hotaru-chan," she said, not looking up at me from her knitting.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" I shouted. "Is that part of the reason we're going to Iapetus Castle?!"

"Shush, Hotaru-chan," Mother uttered. "We will be there soon. All will be explained then."

"All should be explained now!!"

At this, she looked up at me and stared me in the eye. "You will be told later." The sharpness in her voice was alien to me. My mother had never talked to me like this before, and it terrified me to think about what might really be going on.

I ran out of the cabin and went above deck. My hands grasped the railing as I shouted at the top of my lungs. The servants and crew looked at me like I was crazy, but I could care less. I was royally pissed (pun intended).

A hand tapped my shoulder. It was Yukito. "You okay there?" he asked. He joined me and leaned on the railing.

I furrowed my brow. "No! I have no idea what's going on!" I fumed.

"Well, I'd like to help, but I'm not sure I feel like it at the moment," he stated.

I looked at him incredulously. He had been nice since two days ago; where'd all that go? "What do mean?" I inquired.

"So, you're getting married?" he asked suddenly.

I blushed. "How do you know that already?"

He looked me in the eye. "I saw you with that prince in your room. You seemed to be pretty inviting to him."

"You were watching me yesterday?!"

"I was checking up on you when your parents said you went back to your room. They didn't tell me you were busy, though."

I didn't like the intense look Yukito was giving me. "W-why do you care?! It's none of your business!"

At my last remark, he seemed really hurt and he gave up. "You're right," he said coolly. "It's not." He turned to leave, but I felt I had to say one more thing.

"For the record, it's not what you think," I said. I can't believe I was explaining this to him!

Yukito was silent for a moment. "How would you know what I think? If you did, we wouldn't be in this argument." And with that, he left me clinging to the railing and to his words.

What had he meant?! I felt like crying! Or eating a gallon of ice cream with Chibiusa… Mother and Kyou were the last people I wanted to be in the same vicinity with, let alone on the same boat. At that moment, I figured out what my dream was: to be loved be guy I loved (even though I had to figure out who the guy was first). But I hoped it came true. I wouldn't mind if it took away the pleasure of 'what if'. Well, that's what I thought then, at least. Something that Yukito had said still remained in my mind: Kyou, a _prince_?!

-- -3

"Princess Hotaru," Kyou said, bowing in front of me as I stepped onto solid ground. He helped me off the boat, but I soon took my hand away from. He seemed to know something was up. "I'm sorry about the current situation," he whispered in my ear as we headed up to the castle.

I furrowed my brow. "I know it's probably not your fault, but I'm just frustrated. Kyou, this isn't just some simple trade business we're here for, is it?"

The prince seemed to hesitate again. "Actually…," he started. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and noticed he was biting his lower lip. Finally, he continued. "You're not going back to Titan Castle after today," he quietly finished.

I looked at him, dumbfounded. There was so much to say! I had not known anything! But, once I heard it all, how would I explain it to Yukito? More importantly: why explain it to Yukito if he was just going to get all nasty like he had before, when he hadn't even given me the chance to explain? My conscience was making excuses for him again…

Kyou accompanied me into the main audience hall of Iapetus Castle. Even though Titan was Saturn's main castle, Iapetus was larger than it, almost double in size, and had a many more rooms, too. There, in the hall, the monarchs of the palace and Kyou took their places at a round table set in the middle of the room while my parents and I sat in their thrones. You see, even though it wasn't our palace, since we were the rulers of the whole planet, we were the rulers of the rulers, really. It was uncomfortable for me to be in Kyou's seat, though; it felt odd.

"Those present may begin the discussion," Mother boomed.

Iapetus' king bowed and stood up at his seat. "All that's left, my liege, is to set a date and prepare the decorations and garments."

"I see," she replied with intrigue. "Sounds simple enough. Have you given the date any thought?"

The queen arose this time. "About a month from now, my liege," she answered.

Mother nodded with a creepy smile on her face. "Good, good. In the meantime, we can take care of all of the decorations."

"What about the garments?" Father asked.

"Hotaru's is set," Mother replied nonchalantly. "So," she said, turning back to the other king and queen, "what flowers have you prepared?"

I tuned the rest out. 'All will be explained', my foot! Mother was just marrying me off so our bloodline was secure. If I had a child, I would never do that to them. I had always believed that you marry for love, but Mother _had_ told me once, when I was about eleven or so, that you marry for reasons other than love. I was ready to escape this torture and find Yukito. I was sure that if I explained everything without him getting a word in, he would come around and forgive me. Damn it! Why did I care so much about what he thought?! We were barely friends, and while I thought he was good-looking- okay, _really_ good-looking- I was sure I didn't _like_ like him. But, as to him liking me… I had no idea what was going on in his head, so I had no idea if he liked me that way!

Give or take an hour, I was out of there soon enough and, after changing into some comfy Old Navy jeans from Earth (which my mother disapproved of), I left to find Yukito.

At first, I tried looking around the Lua, but he wasn't there, which I found peculiar. I shrugged and walked about the castle. It was different when everyone wasn't stopping to bow to you because you're the princess. Actually, I kinda enjoyed it. I wondered what it would be like to work.

That was when I saw this small pin of a girl carrying these huge boxes over to a wagon. She looked like she was about to collapse with the boxes on top of her! I rushed over and carried them for her. "Thanks, lady," she said cheerily. She had such a bright smile when she thanked me.

It…felt good. I quickly mustered a 'no problem' and looked to see if anyone else needed help. The girl asked me if I was looking for a few hours work, so I played along. She took me to an older girl who I was closer in age with and asked her if I could help in the kitchens. The older girl looked me over and asked if I could cook or clean dishes. Luckily, I had experience with those things, so I said 'yes' and she led both me and the younger girl into a huge kitchen. I gasped in amazement: it was about a fifth of the palace overall!

The older girl, Minami, set the younger girl, Kotomi, and me to work peeling potatoes. It was fun working for a change, and really being needed for something felt wonderful. We were in charge of cooking the evening meal for the crew that had come over on the Lua. Working in the kitchen made me forget the past days' troubles and Yukito, but maybe that was a good thing.

Before we carried the dishes to the crew, I put up the hood on my sweatshirt so they wouldn't recognize me. Kotomi thought I was being funny, but I told her I didn't want my hair to fall in their food. She smiled and tied her hair back. Then we went back outside and served every last one of the crew members.

After making sure everyone was fed, Kotomi and I went back inside and put the dishes in the sink. "Could you start washing the dishes while I run to the bathroom, uh…"

I froze. I hadn't come up with a name! "Y-Yuki! My name is Yuki!" I smiled faintly, but she bought it.

"I'll be back soon!" And the small blonde girl disappeared.

As I began the dishes, I sighed. _Yuki? Jeez, just when I had stopped thinking about Yukito, he pops up in my head and saves me._ You see, it was just as bad for a royal to impersonate a worker as it was for a worker to impersonate a royal. Don't ask why; it was just how it was. I scrubbed hard at the plates even though they didn't really need it.

"Whoa, there!" a voice said from behind. "What did the plates do to you?"

I turned on my heel and came face-to-face with Yukito. "You!" I stated loudly, pointing a soapy finger at him.

"Yes, me. Is it too much to hope you have seconds?" he asked, looking around me.

I paused for a moment. "You _do_ know who I am, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes. You are a girl who's going to get into a lot of trouble if someone finds out you're not really a worker," Yukito replied, still looking for food.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" I grabbed his face with both of my hands and turned him towards me. I did it so fast that we were both shocked at how close our faces were, but neither of us, red-faced, moved away. "W-why are you treating me coldly?" I stuttered. "I had a feeling that maybe you were trying to avoid me when I was looking for you on the Lua earlier."

He remained still, with his face still in my hands. "And why was that?"

"B-because! Don't toy with me!!"

"That's right," he said bitterly, getting out of arm's-length of me, "you'd rather have the prince toy with you!!"

"Why do you care so much about me and Kyou?!" I shouted at him. Just then, someone opened the kitchen door.

-- -3

Yukito quickly dropped his plate and let it hit the ground as he hid me in his arms.

The person stood still for a moment and muttered to himself something about rats. But after a minute or so, he left with nothing.

Heart still racing, Yukito spoke. "That was too close for comfort." He must've realized he was still holding onto me, for he quickly reddened and pushed me away. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-!"

I ignored it. "I still want to know," I mumbled. "Why do you care so much about me and Kyou?"

Yukito tensed a little, looked me in the eye, and confidently said, "Because I'd rather it be you and me."

My heart could've stopped then and there. But the only thing to come out of my mouth was: "I've only known you for a little over a week!"

"And yet you're ready to believe that friendship happens faster than love?" he asked.

I felt my emotions cloud my mind as I began to understand so much about my actions toward him: I was falling for him. It's funny; I remember thinking that the pleasure of 'what if' wouldn't be that bad to lose, but the 'what if' of if he did have an interest in me only half-disappeared. The other half rejoiced.

Yukito must've thought that I wasn't going to say any more, so he stood and collected his shattered plate.

"Wait! I can do that for you!" I said, standing as well.

He paused without looking at me. "You must get back to your room before anyone finds you're missing, your majesty." He said nothing more.

Hurt, I caught one final look of him for the day and ran back to my room. I slammed my door shut and cried into my pillow the whole length of the night.

-- -3

The days persevered and along with it, my feelings for Yukito. Even though we hadn't talked for a while, I still smiled for him every time I caught his eye. It didn't matter where we were or who was watching. I was in love with him, and, even though I was the only one who knew it, I made sure the point was getting through to him.

But, as the days moved along, Kyou was making a good impression on me. Usually he was attached at my hip wherever I went, but I found I didn't mind it as much. Now that my dream had come true, I didn't have to worry about Kyou too much. But, on the other hand, I _did_. Our wedding was fast approaching, and I was trying to figure out a way to cancel it. Kyou seemed to know that something was up, but I didn't think he knew about Yukito. And that was good so far, because Kyou was in love with me, which wasn't really good when you think about it.

It was just a week before the big day and I was outside, looking for Yukito as usual. Someone placed their hand on my shoulder and gripped it tightly. I turned around to find the prince there behind me. "Is there something you need?" I asked him.

Kyou looked deeply perturbed. "Princess… It's not something I need. It's something I want. You…haven't been yourself lately. You've been staring into space a lot."

"Uh… Not really. I-I'm fine."

He looked at me and sighed. "You're the worst liar in history, princess. You really don't want the weekend to happen, do you?"

"I-!" I couldn't think of anything to say. Had I been that obvious? "Look, Kyou-"

Kyou put up a hand to stop me. "You want to marry for love, don't you?"

I turned my gaze away from him, but he followed my eyes to the ground. I remained silent.

"Then, please," he said, wrapping his arms around me, "marry for my love!" Kyou's arms around me felt strange, but he was serious.

"Kyou…," I mumbled. I pushed against him and he moved away. I merely shook my head.

He face went ghostly white. "You…have someone you love?" he whispered. Kyou didn't give me time to answer. The prince roughly grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed me hard on the lips. I shoved him off me and he had a stern gleam in his eye; he wasn't going to give up.

"I-I don't want you to be the one to kiss me!!" I yelled at him. Some of the workers outside stopped and looked to see what all the ruckus was.

He clenched his fists. "And just who is it that you want to kiss you?"

Okay, now, I admit, I was kinda scared, but then you-know-who stepped in front of me. Yukito scratched his head and sighed. "You know, I want to know that, too, but it doesn't give me any right to force it out of her." He glared at Kyou fiercely. "And you don't have that right, either."

"Isn't that sweet," Kyou remarked. "Little do you know that I am the one who loves the princess more." The prince smirked at Yukito, but he didn't bite.

"Well, then, it's a shame she won't be staying for the wedding!" Yukito smiled. Suddenly, he picked me up by my waist and we jumped over the ledge down into the water.

We landed with a huge splash. I looked above and saw Kyou, shocked, at the ledge. I turned to my right and saw Yukito just looking ahead.

"Why did you do that?!" I asked him.

"You didn't want to marry him, let alone kiss him. You hate what your mother got you into. You hated the royal life overall. I was just helping you escape it all." He swam away from the palace and from me, but I swam after him.

"We have no place to go, you kidnapped a princess, and you left one thing out," I shouted at him.

Yukito stopped. He grabbed my hand and tugged me along. "I don't mind kidnapping the princess. So, what did I forget?"

"You forgot to consider that she may not want to go with you," I replied.

He froze and scanned my eyes. Slowly, a grin crept on his face. "No, I didn't leave that out. I figured you out, you know."

"Well, I _was_ aiming all those smiles at you," I commented. I pulled him toward me and did what I had wanted to do for a while now: kiss him. "Now you know who I want to be kissed by."

Yukito touched my hands and kissed me again. "And now we get to elope. Isn't that fun?"

My Saturn Crystal started glowing. I forgot I had it on me! "You know," I said to him, keeping my eyes on my brooch, "you once told me that I have a lot to learn. Why don't you teach me, then?" I looked into his eyes and smiled. "There's nothing for us here."

"At the palace. But here, where we are now, the only thing for us is each other." Yukito kissed me again and the Saturn Crystal pulsed with power. There was a bright flash of light and we were gone from Kyou, the wedding, Iapetus Castle, Mother, my royal responsibilities, and from Saturn as we knew it.

-- -3

I woke up and looked around me. I was lying on a beach and the tide was touching my toes. It was ice cold, like the time I had been on the shore at Titan Castle with Yukito… _Yukito!_ I scrambled to my feet and looked all around me. I sighed. Yukito was right beside me, holding onto my arm. He was still asleep, but I was glad he was still breathing. _Where are we?_ The island seemed foreign to me. But…I wasn't really worried about where we were. I…

"Umn…" Yukito lifted his head and saw me. "Hotaru! Are you okay?!"

"What? Not 'Princess'?"

We stood and walked around a bit. There seemed to be no one else on the island, but, the thing is, it wasn't much of an island, either. We were kinda on a piece of land that was floating on a sea of…mist. It was quiet.

"Where are we?" Yukito asked. He looked out to the sea of silver mist with me.

"I don't know." I gripped his sleeve. "There's no one else here. We're alone."

"We may never go back, I guess." He turned to me and enveloped me in his arms. "But you're mine now, so I guess I'm okay with that."

I pressed my index finger to his lips and shushed him. "Silence was lonely for me before, but now…now it's peace. Don't make me go back to my previous silence. Ever."

He smiled. "Of course not." And we kissed and kissed.

As the senshi of destruction and silence, you might have guessed I led a lonely life. It never surprised me, though. With the power to destroy the world at the drop of my Silence Glaive, it was no wonder I was always an unwelcome guest. But Yukito had been curious about me and hadn't been afraid of me. He had even spoken his mind to me! Juno had been wrong; it didn't hurt to lose the pleasure of 'what if' when your dream came true. If you gained something you wanted more than everything else, then it was worth it.

The freedom I had desired found me. Freedom with someone I could be myself with. Freedom with someone who I loved and who loved me. Hope was not lost, freedom was not lonely, and the mistress of silence had quenched her longing for silver silence.

-- -3

Meow! mew-tsubaki here! Did you like it? I hope so! Hotaru and I are much alike (we even look alike), except for the fact that she hates milk; I love it. Anyway, please review this one-shot for me, if you please. I liked the ending! Yukito is one of my favorite original characters, though. He's soo hot!! Whee! Read the other 30th Century Quintet stories and review them, too. Thanks! laterz -

**NEW NOTE: Did you know? The last time I touched this story (and it was finished then) was June 20****th****, 2006. I'm surprised. Anyway, what I wanted to say was that it's most likely that Hotaru and Yukito ended up somewhere on 30****th**** century Earth, like an uncharted island. Please don't ask for any details. BUT! If you like my string of the Silver Millennium Guardian stories and the 30****th**** century quintuplets, then let me know! :) I'm here to please!! Also, if you want me to write another version of one of these Sailor Moon fics, say so in a review! 3 reviews might just do the trick… (Now I'm sounding like lady-kyo…yikes!) So, pretty please with a sailor senshi on top –or a handsome guy in a mask –REVIEW!! Then I'll churn out some stories! Thanks! laterz mew-tsubaki**


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